# Donnie Druin: In a Cardinals mailbag, Druin says Elijah Wilkinson is locked in as the starting right tackle to open the season, predicts Arizona clears last year's three-win total if healthy, and expects rookie Jeremiyah Love to play in Week 1 while Tyler Allgeier handles the bulk of the backfield work. **Claimed:** Sep 6, 2026 **Pundit:** Donnie Druin — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/donnie-druin **Outlet:** Sports Illustrated — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/sports-illustrated **How it reached us:** published in writing **Original:** https://www.si.com/nfl/cardinals/onsi/arizona-cardinals-mailbag-jeremiyah-love-recovery-josh-sweat-trade-talk-biggest-question-marks 4 claims — 3 depth chart calls and 1 season win total — the 3 we can check each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call. It names 4 players and teams, each linked to their own record. None of the 3 calls we can check have settled yet — they grade once their results are in. The other one was too vague to check, so it is not graded. Of the 3 unsettled calls enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands above the room on 1 and below it on 2. > My unofficial prediction is Love will play but Tyler Allgeier mostly handles duties as the Cardinals ease Love back into the mix. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Jeremiyah Love to be 2nd on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Jeremiyah Love, Arizona Cardinals - Verdict: not settled yet - “if the team is healthy, Arizona should at very bare minimum surpass that three-win total from last season” - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Arizona Cardinals - Verdict: too vague to check - **Elijah Wilkinson to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Elijah Wilkinson, Arizona Cardinals - Verdict: not settled yet - **Tyler Allgeier to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Tyler Allgeier, Arizona Cardinals - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Jeremiyah Love — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jeremiyah-love - Arizona Cardinals — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/cardinals - Elijah Wilkinson — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/elijah-wilkinson - Tyler Allgeier — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/tyler-allgeier ## What others said about the same people - Garrett Podell on Carson Beck: Podell argues the Cardinals have maxed out with Jacoby Brissett and that rookie Carson Beck should be ramped up to replace them as starter, targeting Week 8 at Dallas for Beck's regular-season debut. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2f499498-ebbe-41f8-8ea3-41fe96f79432 (scored 0) - Jesse Holley on Arizona Cardinals: Jesse predicted the Cowboys finish 10-7 but still win the NFC East with 10 wins, picking Dallas over the Giants, Commanders, Texans, Buccaneers, Colts (loss), and losing to Baltimore, Green Bay, Philadelphia twice, Arizona, Seattle and the Rams. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c8bf64dc-c1b3-42db-86f8-51b862676332 (scored 100) - Garrett Podell on Arizona Cardinals: For Week 7 of the 2026 season, Podell predicts Daniel Jones plays a clean, turnover-free game against Minnesota's top-ranked defense, Bijan Robinson rushes for 150-plus yards against the undefeated 49ers, and the Cardinals upset the Broncos at home without scoring a touchdown. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/5e8e3212-036d-46f2-8339-92fbb0e4be71 (scored 0) - Tyler Sullivan on Arizona Cardinals: In his Week 7 upset alert column, Sullivan expects the Cardinals to score in the low-to-mid 20s and beat the visiting Broncos, whose offense he views as broken under Bo Nix. He also suggests Sam Darnold's turnovers will let the Chiefs win in Seattle and remain undefeated. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/acdebc00-85f6-4a9d-9cd8-f803aaebe525 (scored 0) - Tyler Sullivan on Arizona Cardinals: Sullivan projects final scores for every Week 7 NFL game, including a comfortable Vikings home win over the Colts, a Jets win over the winless Dolphins, a Browns road win in Tennessee, another Cardinals upset over Denver, and a Bengals win in Baltimore. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/97bc793d-c9fd-46fc-9ecb-2df22b1100ac (scored 23.81) - Tyler Sullivan on Arizona Cardinals: Sullivan flagged Week 5 upset candidates, pointing to the Cardinals knocking off the favored Lions and the 49ers beating the Seahawks on the road. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/84c6cb38-3454-496e-ba3d-b66e81dea9eb (scored 0) ## More depth chart calls The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Jeremy Brener on Drew Lock: Brener picked the Seahawks to beat the Cardinals in Week 9 by a multi-score margin, giving a final score of 27-13, and expressed confidence Seattle would be fine with Drew Lock starting at quarterback. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/7eb2d245-63d0-4be0-80ba-3f60197e2b16 (scored 100) - Jeremy Brener on Jalen Milroe: Brener suggests Seattle may turn to rookie-contract quarterback Jalen Milroe for their first career start in Week 9 against the Cardinals, with Sam Darnold ruled out and Drew Lock dealing with an elbow injury. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/42d1bd81-5e19-456e-9f68-b3b135170ec0 (scored 0) - Michael Moore on Shedeur Sanders: In a Week 9 injury roundup, Moore forecast which banged-up fantasy contributors would play or sit: Deshaun Watson, Garrett Wilson, David Montgomery, Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, TreVeyon Henderson and Terrance Ferguson are expected out, while Travis Kelce, Saquon Barkley, Michael Wilson, Christian Watson and Emeka Egbuka should play. They also expect Shedeur Sanders and Drew Lock to start at quarterback. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e26319a3-10aa-49a6-a24d-a257521363f0 (scored 100) - Zachary Pereles on Shedeur Sanders: Pereles writes that if Deshaun Watson can't clear concussion protocol in time, the Browns would likely turn to second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders to start Week 9 against the Saints. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/6dad75dd-1818-4a6a-91ea-832f491c2530 (scored 100) - Nic Bodiford on Joe Fagnano: Previewing Week 9 running game matchups, Bodiford expects Jacksonville to win lopsidedly over a depleted Baltimore team, with Bhayshul Tuten sitting out and Chris Rodriguez taking over as lead back, while Joe Fagnano starts at quarterback for the Ravens. They also view Broncos rookie Jonah Coleman as an RB2 going forward. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a13b9f29-bb76-4c56-b226-aca74b21f5b7 (scored 100) - Jacob Herlin on J.J. McCarthy: Herlin published Week 7 fantasy D/ST rankings with projections for 28 team defenses, led by Houston, Minnesota and Cleveland. They also expect Cleveland to post a fourth straight top-10 fantasy defense result, and predicts Jalon Daniels starts another week for Tampa Bay while J.J. McCarthy takes over as the Giants' starter. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cf4a2992-3760-464e-b540-6182ebc4457f (scored 100) --- Accuracy is 0-100 against what actually happened. The naive guess is what a strategy requiring no knowledge would have scored on the same call — the difference is the skill, and it is what the MissedTakes Score averages. Full method: https://missedtakes.co/methodology We summarize what a pundit said and quote a short span for attribution; we never republish their article. If this is wrong, tell us: https://missedtakes.co/corrections?pundit=donnie-druin